John Cassavetes

Primarily known as an actor early in his career, John Cassavetes would later be regarded as one of the most daring and influential filmmakers of the 20th Century, attributed by many as the artist who...
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One of the biggest pieces to the mystifying puzzle that is Gotti: Three Generations is finally in place: Ben Foster will play John Gotti Jr. in the upcoming biopic.
The Mechanic (et al.) star joins John Travolta -- as Gotti Sr. -- Al Pacino, and Kelly Preston in the Barry Levinson-directed drama about the titular mob boss, from the viewpoint of John Jr.
Levinson had some nice things to say about his newest cast member, whose film career received a jumpstart (in 1999's Liberty Heights) thanks to the director: "[Ben] is one of the few young actors who can literary transform himself from role to role, from light comedy to a deadly gunslinger in 3:10 to Yuma. I think he can bring something very memorable to the role of Gotti Jr."
And Foster volleyed the compliments right back: "Barry Levinson was the first director who took a chance on me, and I have a career because of him. This is a film about family, fathers and sons. I am deeply honored for the opportunity to work with Barry and the amazing cast he is assembling to help bring the story of the Gotti family to the screen."
The film, which hasn't even begun shooting, has been in the headlines frequently, thanks to the highly publicized comings and goings of Lindsay Lohan, Joe Pesci and director Nick Cassavetes.
Source: EW, Variety

The beloved actor passed away peacefully at his Los Angeles home on Thursday (23Jun11).
Falk was born in New York in 1927 and enjoyed a career spanning 50 years.
He broke into the acting industry in 1956 when he landed a role in an off-Broadway production of Moliere's play Don Juan. That same year, he made his Broadway debut in Diary of a Scoundrel.
He later shifted his focus onto TV and film work, but he was warned early on not to expect too much success due to a glass eye he had implanted at the age of three - after doctors found a malignant tumour in his right eye.
However, he defied Hollywood agents and scored his film debut with a small role in Wind Across the Everglades in 1958. Two years later (60), Falk appeared as gangster Abe Reles in Murder, Inc - the same year he married first wife Alyce Mayo, with whom he has adopted daughters Catherine and Jackie. The movie was a hit with critics and earned him an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor in 1961.
Murder, Inc. proved to be Falk's break-out role, and he would go on to reprise the role again in 1960s TV series The Witness.
Meanwhile, his film career continued to rise with a part in Frank Capra's 1961 comedy Pocketful of Miracles - another Oscar-nominated role - and parts in director pal John Cassavetes' movies Husbands (1970) and A Woman Under the Influence (1974).
But it was Falk's turn as Lieutenant Columbo in the hit TV crime series Columbo that he is best known for. The programme aired on U.S. network NBC between 1971 and 1978, and later moved to ABC, where it was shown from 1989 to 2003. The role won Falk four Emmy Awards and a Golden Globe.
Falk suffered from deteriorating health towards the end of his life, suffering from Alzheimer's disease.
His personal life hit the headlines in January 2009 when his daughter Catherine, a real life private detective, battled Falk's second wife, actress Shera Danese, to be named conservator of his estate. Catherine claimed her father also had dementia and could no longer care for himself.
Falk is survived by Danese, whom he married in 1977, and his two children.

This isn't the first time that a company used nostalgia to market its movie. In fact, the early ad materials for Red Eye prominently focused on the fact that the film featured someone who was in The Notebook and someone who was in Batman Begins, two movies far better than it. It's quite fitting, then, that the trailer for The Vow, a romantic drama from director Michael Sucsy (HBO's Grey Gardens), tells you that it stars the actors who drove the fore-mentioned Nick Cassavetes flick and Lasse Hallstrom's Dear John to great box office returns. That would be Rachel McAdams and Channing Tatum, who play a young married couple who get into a car accident that leaves the wife without memory of her relationship with her husband.
I can only assume that this is going to be another soapy, melodramatic movie that will do great business when it hits theaters on February 10th, but what do I know. Check out the trailer below.
Source: YouTube

So at first Lindsay Lohan was in Gotti: Three Generations with Nick Cassavetes directing. Then she wasn’t. Then was back in but as a different character. Then Nick Cassavetes dropped out of the project and was replaced by Barry Levinson.
Now guess what! Levinson says that she isn’t in it! Well, probably. He’s still writing.
According to him, Lohan was Cassavetes' casting (as was everyone else in the film except for Al Pacino) and due to her problems there might not be a spot for her in the film. In fact, Levinson might just write around her and whatever character she might potentially play. All in all, between getting de-casted in a film and yesterday’s sentencing to 3 months in jail, this was not a good week for Lindsay Lohan. But I still have faith in her! After all, she’s been down this road before and well, she went right back to jail. Good job girl!
Source: The Wrap

Well this is perfectly boring. Kelly Preston just signed on as Victoria Gotti, wife of John Gotti (not to be confused with his daughter Victoria) in the upcoming biopic about, well, the Gottis. Why boring? Let's consider the fact that her real-life husband, John Travolta, will play John Gotti and that we've seen enough of this couple all over tabloids for years. Now they're going to be playing mob husband and wife, but really, it just seems a little lazy.
Then there's the aspect that Preston's acting is pretty vanilla for the most part. Even when she got to be a little interesting and, dare I say it, slutty in Jerry Maguire, she's still decidedly Preston-ish. But hey, maybe they were looking to find someone vanilla. Gotti: Three Generations already got Travolta and they recently added Lindsay Lohan as the junior Gotti's wife, Kim. Maybe they've got enough personality, character, insanity or whatever you want to call it with those two.
The flick also recently added director Barry Levinson to replace Nick Cassavetes, which is a bit perplexing. Any way you slice it, this film is looking to be an strange mix of people; maybe that will work to its advantage, or maybe it will be just as hodgepodge as it looks to be now.
Source: NY Post

Fiore Films boss Marc Fiore reveals Levinson will replace Nick Cassavetes, who quit the project last month (Apr11).
Levinson will direct John Travolta, Joe Pesci and Lindsay Lohan in Gotti: Three Generations.
In making the official announcement on Tuesday (03May11), Fiore tells WENN, "Barry Levinson is one of the most pre-eminent directors of our generation. Barry has been a driving force in filmmaking for the past 35 years and has directed some of the most memorable movies of our time."
The filmmaker adds, "What really attracted me to the story was that it was from the perspective of John Gotti Jr. You see an insider's look that I haven't seen told before."

Cassavetes quit Gotti: Three Generations, due to a scheduling conflict, just a week after staging a press conference to announce his leading men, Travolta and Joe Pesci, last month (Apr11).
But his director's seat won't be vacant for long, according to trade paper Variety.
Levinson is slated to take charge of the Fiore Films project, which will star Travolta as mob boss John Gotti, Pesci as his deputy Angelo Ruggiero and Lindsay Lohan as John Gotti Jr.'s wife Kim.

Phew, those of us who were worried that we would never see John Travolta, Joe Pesci and Lindsay Lohan in a movie together can rest easy. Our game of 6 Degrees of Kevin Bacon just got a little easier. Barry Levinson has agreed to direct Gotti: Three Generations.
While original director Nick Cassavetes, who stepped down to complete the indie Yellow (which by the way, seems like an appropriate thing to mention in the initial meetings, “Oh yeah, I’m also contractually obligated to finish this other movie at a time that will conflict with this one. Besides that no problem.” “You’re hired!”), was sure to bring an authentic grittiness to the story, Levinson brings a certain gravitas to the film. Responsible for such high quality motion pictures as Rain Man, Good Morning Vietnam and Bugsy, he's got the experience and ability to make Gotti a classy production. Or not. This is a Lindsay Lohan mob movie we’re talkin’ about here.
Source: Variety

UPDATE: Variety reports that Emile Hirsch has also joined the production in an undisclosed role. I had actually originally thought that Hirsch would be great in the role of Ben, a part which Aaron Johnson will play, so I don't have any clue as to who he'll portray in the picture now. We'll report back when do.
EARLIER: When Blake Lively was first rumored to be in the running for the role of O in Oliver Stone's Savages, she talked about how actors have always jumped at the chance to work with the Oscar winning auteur. "When you look at directors that you want to work with, he's always on the top of the list," the blond beauty said, and now she's going to. Deadline reports that she's been locked into the part of the pot-smoking and dealing girlfriend of both Taylor Kitsch (as the ex-Navy SEAL Chon) and Aaron Johnson (as the brilliant botanist Ben) in the director's adaptation of the Don Winslow novel.
Stone co-wrote the script with Shane Salerno and will begin principle photography in early July. He's also cast John Travolta as a a burned-out DEA agent and Uma Thurman as O's mother Paqu, joining Salma Hayek as the queen of the Mexican drug cartel that goes after the trio of Laguna marijuana pushers and Benicio del Toro as a ruthless enforcer for the cartel. The source notes that there are several more roles to be cast, but this is already shaping up to be a killer thriller with a great roster. It's already at the top of my hype list for late 2012, when I expect the film to bow.
Universal Pictures is financing and distributing Savages.
Source: Deadline

The news comes hours after Gotti: Three Generations executive producer, Mark Fiore, announced he was tired of negotiating a deal with Lohan's managers and urged the actress to get in touch with him directly - and it seems the actress has done just that.
Hours after he stated, "Maybe if Lindsay calls me up, we can talk about it," Fiore has announced the Mean Girls star has signed on to play Gambino family boss John Gotti's daughter-in-law Kim in the film as part of a two-picture deal.
The role was initially earmarked for reality TV star Kim Kardashian, according to insiders, while Lohan was formerly in negotiations to portray Gotti's daughter Victoria.
As part of the new deal, Lohan will also have a starring role in Fiore Films upcoming production of Mob Street, a movie based on a screenplay written by actor Chazz Palminteri.
Fiore tells WENN, "We're very pleased to have Lindsay onboard for both of these films. She has been very enthusiastic about the Gotti project, and, after resuming discussions with her, we were impressed by her commitment to the film and felt she would be a perfect Kim Gotti."
Travolta will play Gotti in the film and Joe Pesci will play his right-hand man Angelo Ruggiero.
The project is still without a director after Nick Cassavetes quit the film earlier this week (beg18Apr11), due to a scheduling conflict.

Title

Professional acting debut with a Providence, Rhode Island stock company

Co-starred as Mia Farrow's husband in the thriller "Rosemary's Baby"

First Broadway play as stage manager, "The Fifth Season"

Taught method acting at Burt Lane's Drama Workshop, NYC

Received Academy Award nomination as Best Director for "A Woman Under the Influence"; film starred Rowlands and Peter Falk; Rowlands also nominated for a Best Actress Oscar

Helmed "Gloria", with Rowlands as a tough gun moll who reluctantly cares for an orphan

Began practice of previewing films on college campuses with "Faces", co-starring Rowlands; earned Best Original Screenplay Oscar nomination

Starred in TV series "Johnny Staccato"

Directed himself in "Husbands"

Film directing debut with "Shadows"

Refurbished theater in Hollywood ("Center Theater") and built acting company

First film as supporting actor, "Taxi"

Television acting debut in "Paso Doble" on "Omnibus" series

Debut as film producer, "Too Late Blues"

Directed wife Gena Rowlands in "A Child Is Waiting"; also featured Judy Garland

Hired by Paramount to direct; contract terminated after failure of "Too Late Blues"

Debut as playwright, "The East/West Game" produced in Los Angeles

First film as extra, "14 Hours"

Summary

Primarily known as an actor early in his career, John Cassavetes would later be regarded as one of the most daring and influential filmmakers of the 20th Century, attributed by many as the artist who shaped the current definition of independent film. As a young performer, Cassavetes found his early roles in mainstream productions like "Edge of the City" (1957) creatively unsatisfying. Determined to prove he could do better, he embarked on a three-year odyssey that yielded his debut as a writer-director - the racial identity drama "Shadows" (1959). Though not a commercial hit, "Shadows" earned Cassavetes enough critical acclaim to attract Hollywood, although the resulting films left him chaffing under the control of the studio system. In response, Cassavetes created a system of his own - one in which he would act in major productions like "The Dirty Dozen" (1967) and "Rosemary's Baby" (1968) in order to fund independent endeavors of his own. Over the course of the next 15 years Cassavetes wrote, directed and occasionally performed in such thought-provoking works as "Faces" (1968), "Husbands" (1970), "Minnie and Moskowitz" (1971), "A Woman Under the Influence" (1974), "The Killing of a Chinese Bookie" (1976), "Gloria" (1980) and "Love Streams" (1984). Each film featured some combination of his frequent acting collaborators, including wife Gena Rowlands, Peter Falk, Ben Gazzara and Seymour Cassel. While professional acting was a mere means to an end, Cassavetes pursued his own artistic truth and provided audiences with new experiences through his deeply personal films.